The Law of God Part I

So when the Bible talks about the Law it is generally considered to consist of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. For instance when Joshua had to take over the leadership of Israel after Moses’s death, God said to him, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”  Joshua 1:8  God had in mind the books Genesis through Deuteronomy which were considered by Israel as one book when He gave this directive to Joshua.

One of the first verses I ever memorized when I joined the Navigator ministry at San Jose State Univ. some 50 years ago was this verse. I’m sure I wasn’t clear on exactly what “this book of the law” referred to. For me this was one of many verses in the Old Testament that showed the value and importance of meditating day and night on the word of God. A few of those are as follows:

Psalm 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

Psalm 37:31 “The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.”

Psalm 40:8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” (This is Jesus speaking by the way).

Psalm 119:92, “If Your law had not been my delight Then I would have perished in my affliction.”  97 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

The question I want to ask and try to answer in this article or study is: How should we believers in the New Covenant feel about the Law (Genesis – Deuteronomy)?  After reading references to the Law in the Old Testament and many in the New Testament I have felt it was very important to still meditate on. But after reading a few other passages in the New Testament, the Law seems to perhaps not have relevance anymore for new covenant believers. And at various points in my life and ministry in the last 50 years I have had believers speak in negative ways about the Law - seemingly saying not only are we no longer under it but also no longer in need of it.

For quite some time now I’ve been jotting down passages to consider in the future (which is now) as I read through the Bible. There are too many passages for me to deal with all of them. But I hope to cite enough to help us all see this important truth: While we new covenant believers are not under the Law, we can still greatly profit by being in the Law (or by meditating in or on the Law).

Jesus said to the disciples who had come up to Him on the mountain these words re: the Law:

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven’ but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:17-19  Now Jesus came to set the captives free by accomplishing on the cross what could never have been accomplished by obedience to the Law, but He speaks of it very highly in this passage and in others. The key is understanding its role – both in the believer and in the unbeliever’s life.

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus is very concerned that we fulfill the intent of the Law, which He summarizes herein. We of course cannot do that apart from being born again and by the enablement of His Spirit.

Matthew 12:5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?”  Jesus often expected the crowds to – especially the religious leaders – to have more understanding from the Law. In this instance He is responding to the Pharisees who were once again criticizing Him and His disciples for breaking the Sabbath (in their minds). They knew the letter of the Law, but not the heart and intention behind it. And they used it to justify themselves and condemn others rather than allowing it to reveal the nature of God and our fallen and helpless nature.

Matt. 23:23 “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”  There are overriding principles of the life and way of God in the Law that the scribe and Pharisees never got or never saw. They pretty much picked and chose what they sought to abide by and again used that to try to justify themselves before God and man.

Jesus certainly never intended for His disciples then or now to neglect or ignore the Law.

Now let’s look at some of the things the apostle Paul said about it. He had more to say about the Law than anyone else in the New Testament. And he was very passionate that we believers see it aright. What follows is in no way an exhaustive study of such.

Acts 21:24 – “take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly keeping the Law.”    The elders of the church in Jerusalem, which included the apostles Peter, John, James, etc., were very concerned that Paul was seen by his critics and enemies as one who “walked orderly keeping the law.” Now by now they clearly knew we believers are saved by grace through faith (see Acts 15:11). So this was not about getting saved or being justified before God. It had more to do with not being unnecessarily a stumbling block to the watching and blinded Jews, and probably some saved Jews who still were trying to figure out the place of the Law in the New Covenant.

Acts 22:12, 13 – “A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing near said to me, “Brother Saul, receive your sight!...” Paul is now giving his defense before the angry accusing Jews in Jerusalem (starting in vs. 1) who were accusing him of preaching against the Law (see 21:28) among other things. Ananias, a disciple whom God used in a very significant way in Saul’s life before he began to go by Paul, was not under the Law. But he was deemed devout by the overarching righteous standard of the Law by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 25:8 – “while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” Paul was careful to live according to the righteous standard of the Law, but in no way sought justification or salvation by trying to obey the Law.

Romans 2:17-29 Paul rebukes the Jews in Rome who were putting their hope and trust in their failed attempts to obey the Law instead of placing their hope and trust in Christ alone. Too long to print here.

Romans 3:19 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;     All earthlings are under the demands of the Law and the penalties for not fully obeying all of the Law until Christ sets us free from that demand and that penalty.                                                                                     Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”     The Law was never given and never meant to somehow give us salvation and eternal life as we sought to fully obey it. The Law was given so we can see the holiness of God and our sin and need of holiness.                        Romans 3:21 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ…”  God gave us the Law and the ministry of the Prophets and the books of the Bible written by the prophets to point us to Christ and the righteousness that only comes by faith in what He accomplished on the cross.                     Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”          Attempts no matter how gallant to obey the law can never justify us before a holy God. Is the Law then to be neglected or ignored or thought less of? Romans 3:31 “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”   The more we believers grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we see the beauty and truth and righteousness of the Law. The Law serves as a much needed mirror of our sinful nature apart from His intervening and saving grace. For instance one of the earliest statements about our fallen nature spoken by our Triune God to Himself comes from Genesis 8:21, “…the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth;…”. The more I grow in grace and holiness made possible by the blood of Christ, the more I see how true this is re: our fallen sinful nature.

I would maintain that unbelievers also eventually establish the Law, that is, the longer they live the more the truths of the Law are demonstrated in their lives.

Well I have a number of other passages I want to cite and comment on, but this is long enough for now. I hope to present Part II in the next week or so. God bless you and give you His heart and mind as you meditate on the Law of God as the Holy Spirit leads and enables you.